Jan 30, 2017 | By Benedict

To celebrate the start of the Year of the Rooster, the Rose Kennedy Greenway park in Boston is hosting an unusual 3D printing project, created by artist Chris Templeman. Over the course of the year, a 3D printer will print out more than 2,000 3D printed plastic roosters for visitors to keep.

Chris Templeman, Make and Take, 3D printed rooster

Templeman is part of the Artisan’s Asylum fablab in Somerville, MA, and thought up the ambitious "Make and Take" 3D printing project as a way to commemorate the start of Chinese New Year, which began on January 28. The unique piece consists of a 3D printer surrounded by an eight-feet-tall transparent polycarbonate case, with the 3D printer programmed to print out small plastic roosters, over and over again, for the remainder of the year. 2017 is, of course, the Year of the Rooster.

2,000 plastic roosters will be 3D printed for Make and Take

“Make and Take provides a wonderful opportunity to pair old with new to engage The Greenway’s public art audience with a classic artform reimagined with today’s technology,” said Lucas Cowan, Greenway Conservancy’s Public Art Curator. “I’m delighted to commission a local artist from the ‘maker’ community to showcase art, technology, and Chinese culture.”

Excitingly, visitors to the Rose Kennedy Greenway will get a chance to take home a 3D printed rooster for themselves—if they happen to see Make and Take at the right moment. That’s because each printed fowl will pop out of the bottom of the plastic case once printing is complete, which will be around every 3-4 hours. 2,000 3D printed roosters will be made over the course of the year.

The original porcelain rooster from the Museum of Fine Arts

The digital 3D model used to print each rooster comes from a 3D scan of a Chinese porcelain figurine from an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The 3D printed replicas of the figurine, however, will be printed in PLA. This contrast between the original porcelain and the new PLA is significant, with Templeman using the 3D printing process to make a statement: “The work speaks to the democratization of manufacturing,” he explains. “With technologies like the 3D printer used for Make and Take, individuals can now produce objects once made exclusively by wealthy enterprises.”

Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Templeman now lives and works in Somerville, Massachusetts, where he is an artist, engineer, and educator. Much of his work takes place at Artisan’s Asylum, and he frequently collaborates with other artists at New American Public Art. A Key theme of his work concerns the importance of increasing public access to manufacturing technology—Make and Take being an obvious example of his philosophy.

Make and Take shines a light on how accessible technologies make it possible for everyone to design and realize their ideas with significantly fewer resources,” Templeman says. “In encountering Make and Take, the public is invited to view a marvel of modern technology: the ability to ‘print’ physical objects. The 3D printer, while remaining to be a curiosity, can be purchased for the cost of a laptop. It is on its way to democratizing manufacturing and fabrication just as the computer and the Internet have democratized information.”

Chris Templeman's Make and Take (2017)

Be sure to check back with us on February 16 next year in case somebody is laser cutting miniature dog figurines.

 

 

Posted in Fun with 3D Printing

 

 

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